You are here

Blog

March 08, 2011

>The Day of Silence, Friday, April 15, is fast approaching and it's time to get organizing! Each week we'll post tips to help you plan your Day of Silence activities. Goals for March 8-12

While anyone can participate in the Day of Silence as in individual, if you're planning a bigger activity it helps if you work with a team! We recommend you start planning for your Day of Silence activities at least six weeks before the event if you haven’t already. For this week focus on laying the groundwork for your organizing.

Register:CLICK HERE to register your participation in the Day of Silence. If you're already registered, make sure to update your address on www.studentorganizing.org so we can send you free DOS products.

Find Support: Discuss your participation with the advisor of your GSA or student club, or another trusted faculty member.

Get Permission: Your Day of Silence is likely to be more successful if the school approves of your activities. Research and follow the proper protocol for approving an activity at your school. Ask your supportive staff member to help. Check out the Day of Silence Organizing Manual for tips on how to get permission.

Build a Team: Find peers who want to contribute. Talk to members of your GSA and/or other allies. Tell them about the Day of Silence and ask if they would be interested in getting involved.

Schedule for next week: Make sure to schedule a team meeting with your supportive faculty member and interested students for the upcoming week to keep making progress!

March 08, 2011

>GLSEN is proud to honor Women's History Month by celebrating contributions of women to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout March we will be recognizing heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

-------

Mara Keisling (b. 1959) is a transgender rights activist and the founding Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. The National Center for Transgender Equality was the first professionally staffed transgender-specific organization working at the national level in the United States. Mara moved to Washington D.C. after co-chairing the Pennsylvania Gender Rights Coalition, and seeing a need for a professional transgender voice in the nation’s capitol. Known for her unique combination of expertise and humor, she has received numerous awards from PFLAG, the Equality Forum, GayLaw, the Transgender Law Center, the Harvard Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters Alliance and Out for Work, among others, and frequently speaks at events, colleges, and government agencies.

March 04, 2011

>GLSEN is proud to honor Women's History Month by celebrating contributions of women to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout March we will be recognizing heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

-------

Barbara Jordan (1936 – 1996) was the first black American elected to the Texas House of Representatives after Reconstruction; as well as the first Southern black woman ever elected to the US House of Representatives. Barbara served three terms in the Texas State Senate from 1966-1972, including a term as the president pro tem of the senate. Barbara was the first black woman to hold this position and even served a day as the acting governor of Texas on June 10, 1972. In 1976 Jordan was asked to be the first black woman to give a keynote speech at the Democratic National Committee. President Clinton expressed a desire to nominate Barbara to the position of Supreme Court Justice however by the time a position was available Jordan’s health had deteriorated due to her struggle with multiple sclerosis. She died in 1996 due to complications with pneumonia with her companion of almost 30 years, Nancy Earl, by her side.

March 02, 2011

>GLSEN is proud to honor Women's History Month by celebrating contributions of women to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout March we will be recognizing heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

-------

Ferial Pearson (b. 1978), an English teacher at Omaha South High Magnet School in Omaha, NE, has served as the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance advisor for 10 years despite several threats of lawsuits. She helped grow the club from just one student to one of the nation’s largest high school GSAs, with over 150 students participating. Pearson also served on GLSEN Omaha’s chapter board for three years and helps coordinate LGBT inclusive dances for local GSA’s. In 2010 she was recognized by GLSEN and Sodexo as the “2010 GLSEN Educator of the Year”. When asked about her motivation for her work Pearson, a native of Kenya, responded, “I do it because growing up in Kenya I saw so many people not standing up for others, I saw a lot of atrocities because people were not understood and people would just stand by and let it happen…. I feel it's my duty as a human being to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.”

March 01, 2011

>March is Women's History Month, an important time to pay special attention to the contributions of women to our societies, cultures, and history. As a part of GLSEN's Days of Support, we encourage GSAs and other student organizers to take the time during March to recognize the contributions of women, particularly to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Below are a few things you can do:

Women's History Month Heroes

Learn. Throughout March on the Day of Silence Blog we will be recognizing women who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movement. Click here and keep reading all month long for new additions!

Share. Our Women's History History Month Heroes downloadable flier has information about six notable Women's History Month heroes. It's perfect for sharing. Print off copies and pass them out to members of your GSA, teachers and fellow classmates. Click here to download.

Post. We want to know who your heroes are! If you know a woman who has contributed to the LGBT and safe schools movement, post about them on the Gay-Straight Alliances Facebook page. You can also tweet your heroes to @DayofSilence using the #GLSENWHM hash tag!

NEW! Women's History Activity Zine!

Zines, self-published mini-magazines, have played a big part in the Women's movement, and that's why we created a Women's History Month Activity Zine, filled with information and activities. Download this resource for yourself or print out lots of copies for all the members of your GSA, fellow classmates and school faculty and staff! Click here to download.

February 28, 2011

>GLSEN is proud to honor Black History Month by celebrating the contributions of the African American community to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout February we will be recognizing the African American heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

-------

Audre Lorde (1934 – 1992) was a self described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet" and daughter of Caribbean immigrants. Lorde was a major contributor to the early American LGBT culture fostered in the bars of NYC. Her poetry was published regularly during the 1960’s, and the first volume of her poems The First Cities was released in 1968. Her work deals with the topics of love, betrayal, childbirth and her life as a lesbian and is politically focused around gay and lesbian rights as well as feminism. In 1980 Audre co-founded Kitchen Table, the first U.S. publisher for women of color. Lorde shocked even other feminists of her time with her progressive theories that racism, sexism, and homophobia were all linked in that they all come from an inability to respect difference.

-------

We want to know who your heroes are! If you know an African American person who has contributed to the LGBT and safe schools movement, post about them on the Gay-Straight Alliances Facebook page. You can also tweet your heroes to @DayofSilence using the #GLSENBHM hash tag!

February 26, 2011

>GLSEN is proud to honor Black History Month by celebrating the contributions of the African American community to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout February we will be recognizing the African American heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

-------

Michael Franklin (b. 1985) is a community organizer who works on the intersections of racism, heterosexism and other forms of oppression. As a leader in GLSEN Baltimore, Michael is very committed to supporting the safe schools movement in being inclusive. This year he played a central role in organizing a local summit to support LGBTQA students of color in taking leadership in and advancing the safe schools movement, and is planning to build upon the event’s foundation with similar programs and actions in the future. He is also co-planning a major training initiative for educators in the Baltimore City School District, which serves a high population of low-income students of color. Outside of GLSEN, Michael will be providing works of poetry to the Black Male Identity Campaign of Art on Purpose, a program that uses art to bring people together around issues and ideas, specifically to challenge and reframe the discourse on black males. He hopes to bring light to the value of including gay, bisexual, and transgender men of color within that collective discourse. Michael’s ongoing work is a testament to the importance of recognizing the multitude of identities that all people hold and engaging in organizing that is inclusive of all of those identities and the issues that are connected to them.

-------

We want to know who your heroes are! If you know an African American person who has contributed to the LGBT and safe schools movement, post about them on the Gay-Straight Alliances Facebook page. You can also tweet your heroes to @DayofSilence using the #GLSENBHM hash tag!

February 24, 2011

>GLSEN is proud to honor Black History Month by celebrating the contributions of the African American community to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout February we will be recognizing the African American heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

-------

Daayiee Abdullah (b. 1954), an openly gay Muslim Imam, grew up in Detroit, MI in a Southern Baptist family. Daayiee was politically active from a young age. He worked for California Gov. Jerry Brown’s office in San Francisco and in 1979 he was one of the San Francisco coordinators for the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Abdullah found Islam during his tenure at Beijing University. In 2000 Daayiee joined an online community of gay Muslims and he quickly became a leader in this community. Daayiee soon after became an Imam, and stepped forward to offer funeral prayers for HIV/AIDS victims and perform same-gender wedding ceremonies that no other Imam would do. Abdullah is proud to be one of only two openly gay Imams in the world, and is happy to discuss his beliefs that LGBT people should in no way be excluded from the Islamic community.

-------

We want to know who your heroes are! If you know an African American person who has contributed to the LGBT and safe schools movement, post about them on the Gay-Straight Alliances Facebook page. You can also tweet your heroes to @DayofSilence using the #GLSENBHM hash tag!

February 22, 2011

>GLSEN is proud to honor Black History Month by celebrating the contributions of the African American community to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout February we will be recognizing the African American heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

-------

Peter Gomes (b. 1942) is an openly gay American Baptist minister and theologian at Harvard University’s Divinity School, despite the fact that his church still openly condemns the "gay lifestyle." Since coming out in 1991, Gomes has remained a strong advocate for a wider acceptance of gay and lesbian people in America. He offered prayer at the presidential inaugurals of both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He is also a well published author on theology. His work includes the national best-selling books The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart and Sermons, the Book of Wisdom for Daily Living.

-------

We want to know who your heroes are! If you know an African American person who has contributed to the LGBT and safe schools movement, post about them on the Gay-Straight Alliances Facebook page. You can also tweet your heroes to @DayofSilence using the #GLSENBHM hash tag!

February 17, 2011

GLSEN is proud to honor Black History Month by celebrating the contributions of the African American community to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout February we will be recognizing the African American heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

-------

Bayard Rustin (1912 – 1987) began his career in activism when he was just a child by protesting against segregation alongside the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Throughout his life Rustin was involved in countless boycotts, protests, and initiatives aimed at protecting the civil rights of all minority groups. He was an expert in non-violent resistance having studied in India with leaders of their independence movement and organized many demonstrations of his own. Bayard played a pivotal role in the Black Civil Rights movement as an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. Leaders of the movement asked Bayard to stay out of the public spotlight, for fear of being associated with what was at the time his “illegal” life as a gay man. Rustin continued to advocate for civil rights until his death in 1987, including LGBT rights, a cause he adopted in the later part of his life.

-------

We want to know who your heroes are! If you know an African American person who has contributed to the LGBT and safe schools movement, post about them on the Gay-Straight Alliances Facebook page. You can also tweet your heroes to @DayofSilence using the #GLSENBHM hash tag!